How is a heifer cared for before and after giving birth?

Answer 1

It depends on what type (dairy or beef) of heifer you're wondering about.

Beef heifers aren't pampered like dairy heifers often get to be. A beef heifer is pretty well cared for much like a beef cow would be, except she may be given some feeds higher in energy and protein than mature cows would because she is still growing and has to put her energy into not just her own body, but the calf inside her if she has been bred at 15 months of age (as per expected age of all European-type British and Continental-type heifers). When she's close to two years of age she also begins to lose her baby teeth and mature teeth start coming in. They are grazed during the grazing season along with the cow herd, and expected to thrive and survive on their own with minimal human interference, especially if they are born in a ranch where cows recieve minimal human contact throughout the year. This is no different after she has given birth: Heifers are moved up closer to the calving pens when they are close, and helped out if they are having troubles birthing out a calf on their own, but just like before, they are expected, generally, to be able to mother up and care for their calf as well as themselves on their own without humans interfering too much too often. Many producers have noted that the less you mess around with a cow (or first-calf heifer) and her calf, the better off they'll be.

Dairy heifers get far more pampering than beef heifers do. The reason for this is because they are the constituents of the replacement herd to replace those older dairy cows that are culled due to lowered productivity, mastitis, lameness, reproductive issues, and even behavioural problems like, as one producer put it, being able to "kick like a mule." A heifer is cared for and often kept indoors for most of her life--though this in itself depends on the farm, because this is not always the case--from the time she is born to the time she is first introduced to the milking herd after having her calf. As a calf she is weaned very early from her dam and put on milk replacer formula for a few months plus introduced early to a calf starter ration of mostly grain. Once weaned she is slowly switched over to a more fibrous complete (TMR or total mix ration) of hay, corn silage and some grain, and moved into a group pen with other heifers. As she gets older, to around 10 months of age, she may be moved again to the outdoors for a few months or so, where after she is AI'd or exposed to a bull to concieve for the first time. She is still given a TMR even after breeding, and continued to do so up to and past calving. When calving, she's moved to calving pens where she's watched by staff and helped when needed, then calved out, her calf separated almost immediately after birth, then moved to the barn where the main lactating herd is kept where she learns and becomes trained to be a milk cow like her mother, sisters, aunts, cousins and soon-to-be daughters and nieces would become milk cows themselves.

Whatever type of heifer she is, all heifers get some level of human contact and care before and after birth, with the most emphasis on her health, reproduction and dietary requirements. One thing which was not mentioned above was that all heifers, beef or dairy, recieve vaccinations for diseases such as leptospirosis, clostridial disease (red water, tetanus, black leg), IBR (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis), PI3 (parainfluenza 3), BVD (bovine viral diarrhea) and BRSV (bovine respiratory syncytial virus), among others that may be prevalent in more areas than others (such as anthrax, brucellosis, tuberculosis, etc.).